"We're just trying to get outs." -- Jim Riggleman, on lifting Drew Storen in the ninth.

THE RESULT: This story should be about how the Washington Nationals came from behind with a seven-run eighth inning to defeat the Houston Astros 8-4. Or if could he about how John Lannan persevered to pitch seven strong innings after giving up three in the first inning.

It could even be about how Ivan Rodriguez got a little bit redemption in a lousy season, slugging a massive two-run homer to take a lead the Nats wouldn't relinquish.

But it's not.

It's about how the manager of the Washington Nationals, Jim Riggleman, pulled the rug out from underneath his rookie reliever and future closer, Drew Storen.

Storen, granted, had a bit of a tough time of it in the ninth inning, brought into a five-run game. He got the first out of the inning on a strikeout of Jason Michaels, who hit a two-run homer against Lannan in the first inning.

The second batter of the inning, Chris Johnson, lofted a 1-1 pitch to the bullpen in left center field, cutting the lead to 8-4. Storen got shortstop Tommy Manzella to ground back to him, making a nice grab on the comebacker to get the second out of the inning.

Storen then lost catcher Jason Castro on a 3-2 pitch after two foul balls.

At that point, Riggleman came out and lifted the young reliever, though the man coming to the plate could not tie the game or bring the winning run to home plate. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth in a four-run game with a man on first, Riggleman decided that instead of building confidence in a rookie that struggled his last time on the mound, he needed to bring in a lefty to make pinch-switch-hitter Geoff Blum bat right-handed.

Blum is a career .250/.311/.385 hitter over 12 MLB seasons.

Storen was visibly upset as he left the mound, and he stormed into the runway to the clubhouse. He had every right to be upset. And there are no quotes from him coming from the clubhouse after the game.

Burnett got a pop-up to end the game, and officially seal the Nats all-important 63rd win of the season, ensuring that even if they lose every single game remaining, they will not lose 100 games for the third consecutive year.

But at what cost?

The shattered confidence of one of the proclaimed cornerstones of this franchise? A potentially damaged relationship between the groomed closer and his caretaker manager?

I asked Riggleman in the post-game press conference if something specific bothered him about Storen's performance that caused him to pull the reliever, despite the fact he could not have given up the lead to the next batter. Riggleman easily could have said the walk bothered him enough to go get Storen. And I would probably be writing about the comeback.

But that is not what he said. This was:

"We don't have any specific role for anybody, we're just trying to get outs and I felt like the best way to get that next out was to bring Burnett in. Did I think Drew would get the next out? Yeah. But I was a little more confident that [Burnett] coming in fresh there to face a guy off the bench, but turn him around right-handed, was a little more to our liking."

So no specific roles in the bullpen. But Riggleman felt it was a better matchup to bring a left-handed pitcher in to make a .250 career-hitting switch-hitter hit right-handed (his better side) rather than allow a rookie pitcher finish the job you're grooming him for -- when he couldn't give up the lead or bring the winning run up to the plate -- expressing a lack of confidence in him both by actions and by words.

Maybe I'm overreacting, in which case please feel free to tell me in the comments.

But sometimes process needs to play out. Sometimes you have to let rookie pitchers work out of their own jams. Sometimes you have to manage with the bigger picture in mind instead of acting like it's the seventh game of the World Series every night.

Or not.

THE GOOD: Pudge Rodriguez. His OBP for the season may still be under .300, but the two-run homer he hit to tie the game hit half-way up the foul pole in left field. After the Nats left runners on in scoring position in each of the two previous innings, it was a much needed blast.

Lannan's deeds cannot go ignored either. Roughed up for three runs in the first, it looked like a long night. But Lannan settled down, retiring 12 straight at one point. He went seven full, allowing just the three runs on six hits and one walk, striking out three.

THE BAD: Danny Espinosa went 0-for-4, lowering his average to .212. He did make several stellar plays at second base though throughout the evening.

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comments

Feel Wood
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September 22, 2010 at 8:51 AM

You're not overreacting. Riggleman, Mr. Nice Guy Manager, now has Storen pissed off at him because he thinks his manager has no confidence in him. (The closer thing has nothing to do with it. It wasn't even a save situation for the reliever brought in to replace Storen.) Lannan is already pissed at Riggleman, as shown by his terse "no comment" comment when pulled early a few weeks ago. And Nyjer Morgan is so pissed off at him that he's taking out his frustration on opposing catchers.

I heard a quote recently from some former manager (might have been Ray Knight in the booth, actually) that said "The key to being a successful manager is keeping the guys on your team who hate your guts away from the rest of the guys who haven't made up their minds yet." That must be Riggleman's new philosophy as he tries to avoid getting that $100K buyout dropped on him in a couple of weeks.

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September 22, 2010 at 10:30 AM

You're right on all counts. I think that Riggs is under the gun to try to project the image that his team hasn't given up on this season or on him. He's left Desmond in all year in spite of lots of errors and an unspectacular bat, but doesn't seem to want to display that kind of confidence in his closer of the future.

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Anonymous
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September 22, 2010 at 2:07 PM

Riggleman wouldn't do that to Harris, or to Guzman? I've seen him leave Batista in when that guy had given up a grand slam. Yes, he has pitched in the ninth with a lead.

Riggleman relies on his chosen few veterans plus Maxwell because he thinks Maxwell is such a wonderful human being and a great athlete.

Way, way, way past time for Riggleman to go.

Anonymous
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September 22, 2010 at 8:49 PM

I thought that Storen was mad at himself last night and not at Riggleman. This was confirmed by both the manager and the player today. You were overreacting.

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The Nats beat the Marlins 6-4 on Michael Morse's 30th home run of the season, a three-run shot in the ninth inning. By virtue of that win, the Nats are 79-80 and have clinched third place in the N.L. East. If they win out they'll finish above .500.